Chargers want fans to see kinder, gentler A.J., but who needs change?

The Chargers’ public relations machinery is grinding away, trying to create a new A.J. Smith, a more accessible, media- and user-friendly general manager, the NFL’s Regis Philbin. The public perception of A.J. is that he’s a stubborn, irascible, supremely arrogant, terrible individual who puts his enormous ego ahead of his football team.

So?

OK, I’ll give the public a few of those.

This is not a bad man. Does he have an ego? I hope so, because if you don’t have one, you’re good for nothing. Stubborn? Tremendous at it. If he doesn’t like everybody, doesn’t get along with a few agents, wants his players to behave or be gone, that’s how it is. He does have a heart.

Always more of a recluse, Smith has been (coerced) out and about of late, doing radio gigs, speaking to sportswriters — at least those he hasn’t cut from his list for life — even consenting to a 15-minute SignOnSanDiego.com performance with our Kevin Acee.

A new A. J.? Good luck. You can’t soften a diamond. He relishes his John Wayne image, doesn’t even mind so much the Dr. Evil call, although the former is a better fit than the latter.

That’s A.J., and I see no reason for change. He isn’t even an acquired taste, just a taste, and to many it’s bitter. Forget about sweet. For those who daily call for his head, along with the one atop Norv Turner’s neck, if you think you’re going to break either one of them, well, that tree you’re barking up is the wrong one.

As his team prepares for a huge game against Denver here Monday night, Smith bears the brunt of his team’s 4-5 start, refusing to put it on Turner and his staff. They are his players, the guys who have screwed up on special teams — “Cost us three wins,” he says — and put the ball on the ground at a startling rate.

“I’m always encouraged by the makeup of our players, how they refuse to let go of the rope,” Smith says. “They never take the woe-is-me negative attitude, and that’s because of coach Turner. The players follow him and believe in him.”

Many of you out there are going to read this and spit up your Pop Tarts. But Smith is driven to bring a championship here, and I can’t believe he’d keep a coach around he didn’t believe was capable of doing so. He won’t be swayed.

“The passion of the fans is unbelievable,” he says. “They want us to win a championship, which we haven’t done. They don’t like us losing games and they want us to go through an entire season without adversity and win every game. They want a coach capable of doing it, a GM capable of doing it and players capable of doing it.

“It’s not frustrating to me at all. As an executive in this league, you’d better have a handle on the fans. If you allow that to enter into your world of decision-making you have serious problems. I’ve seen executives come unglued, head coaches unglued, players unglued. That isn’t happening here. I’m not going to deal with it.”

Nothing is going to sway the attitude of many fans toward Turner. But nothing is going to sway Smith on his coach, either.

“I believe in him and I can give you so many examples I couldn’t begin to go over them all with you now,” Smith says of his coach. “The frustrating thing to me is what people think of him. The perception comes from what, his demeanor on TV? You have the Tom Landrys and the Tony Dungys and then the crazies. It’s a matter of flavor. Do you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream?”

Fire Norv?

“No,” he says. “Why would I? I happen to like him as a head coach and I’m encouraged we’re moving forward.”

Don’t eat that last Pop Tart.

“I think he has an outstanding chance to be a world champion head coach,” Smith says. “That’s my opinion. I don’t know if it makes me right or wrong, but that’s my job. Some people think I’m absolutely out of my mind. I’d say that person may be correct — or absolutely wrong.

“I’m not going to go on record saying we need to hire another coach because I don’t believe we need another coach. I hear our slow starts are on Norv Turner. Not true.”

Yeah, he’s changing, all right.

“Our bar is raised high and we haven’t won anything,” he says. “If fans’ expectations are high, that’s OK with me. Our reputation has been pretty good, but we don’t do anything when we get to the playoffs, so the only way to change it is to get it done right. Until then, nothing is good enough.

“Until that takes place, everybody has an opinion on the Chargers. They want it now. I understand. People don’t like me. They don’t like my management style. They don’t like my drafts. Let’s give the drafts some time. I think we’ve had a lot of success. I don’t know what to say.”